CENTENNIAL — Former Bronco and sports analyst Shannon Sharpe is pleased with Denver's big three recent defense acquisitions, saying the moves put the team in a prime spot for a Super Bowl victory.Before addressing a crowd Thursday night as the keynote speaker at a fundraiser for the Junior League of Denver, the Hall of Famer said John Elway was doing what it took to win — n...

2013 was a year in which the three big defenses of the AFC were all in eclipse at the same time. The Steelers were old, the Ravens were rebuilding, and the Patriots were injured. The Broncos ripped through the conference without ever having to face the best defenses in the league.

2014 will be a very different season. Three of the defenses in the NFC West ended the year playing lights out. Have you checked out the draft programs of the 49ers and the Rams? They have so many draft picks that it almost seems like they can print them in their basements at night. The defenses of the AFC East will also be at least above average.

None of this means that the Broncos won't be a good team and have success but the type of schedule, loaded with tough match ups for the Broncos offense, means that the season will have a very different feel. They're not going to be breaking records. The yapping heads will go on and on about "the decline" of Peyton Manning. But if the Broncos learn the right lessons they could be well prepared for the post season.

Former Broncos star and NFL analyst Shannon Sharpe is pleased with Denver's big three recent defense acquisitions, saying the moves put the team in a prime spot for a Super Bowl victory.

Progress is progress, and no one can deny the Bronco's were sorely lacking on defense, especially the secondary. I think the last embarrassing performance in the Super Bowl boiled down to Seattle's stellar defense. They won through youth, talent, enthusiasm, hard hitting, preparation and playing smart. Something the Bronco's lacked. Had the Bronco's had a comparable defense, that would have been one hell of a game.

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." -- Thomas Jefferson

retro-grouch wrote:2013 was a year in which the three big defenses of the AFC were all in eclipse at the same time. The Steelers were old, the Ravens were rebuilding, and the Patriots were injured. The Broncos ripped through the conference without ever having to face the best defenses in the league.

2014 will be a very different season. Three of the defenses in the NFC West ended the year playing lights out. Have you checked out the draft programs of the 49ers and the Rams? They have so many draft picks that it almost seems like they can print them in their basements at night. The defenses of the AFC East will also be at least above average.

None of this means that the Broncos won't be a good team and have success but the type of schedule, loaded with tough match ups for the Broncos offense, means that the season will have a very different feel. They're not going to be breaking records. The yapping heads will go on and on about "the decline" of Peyton Manning. But if the Broncos learn the right lessons they could be well prepared for the post season.

It's a different year for everybody. The schedule thing is what we go through year after year, if it looks tough at the beginning of the year, and the Broncos have crazy success like they have had in the past three years, all we are going to hear about the schedule is, in the end, it wasn't that tough. Screw the schedule, just win the games.

I find it almost hilarious about how now the NFC West is feared, things change so fast, they were a laughing stock just 4 years ago. 49ers will stay tough (even though it sounds like something funny is going on between Harbaugh and the front office), Seattle will stay tough, Arizona will come on at the end of the year to do nothing again, but Fischer might, just might have something going on with the Rams. It's going to be almost the exact same set up as it was last year for the playoffs, I don't see that much changing except for a possible flip in the NFC north and maybe Miami challenging the Pats in the weakest division in the NFL (as far as a competition standpoint.)

I could care less about breaking records, I'm sure the Broncos feel the same. What I do like is every year the Broncos learn from their mistakes to come back better, I see them walking the same path this year, good coaching staff, good front office and well picked players usually leads to good things.

For me, the interesting point about the schedule is not about predicting the win/loss record, which is frankly a stupid and pointless exercise.

How are the Broncos going to win games? Last year they were incredibly inconsistent and the relationship between their offense and their defense was basically an unknown on a game to game basis. The offense kept turning the ball over and the defense went walkabout after every injury. We saw individual games in which execution went up and down like a yo-yo on both sides of the ball.

The question is, if you force both these unit to stabilize, what is their identity? If Fox and Elway tell Manning to engage less risk when trying to open up the passing game what do you have? They seemed to be making progress on this front in the playoffs, which is why the meltdown in the first quarter of the Super Bowl is all harder to grasp.

Manning is a great player who sometimes goes sideways on the risk/reward behavior. That was the Super Bowl. Manning went off, no coach was in tune to it, nobody had a plan for it, and he took the whole team over a cliff. The key relationship that failed was Manning-Gase, who operated as an autonomous unit. We forget how young Gase is and maybe Fox needs to be more involved but that is a tricky chemistry to manage.

In spite of the five MVPs etc. etc., Manning still needs reinforcement that throwing the ball away, and doing it quickly, is often a good play. When he sees a defensive unit come out showing some great stuff--physical talent and creativity--he needs a sort of turtle mode that will let him check in with the coaches, look at the pre-snap stills, and get a sense of what's going on with the coverage. Incomplete passes are nothing compared to picks, sacks, and safeties. You can't blow up your whole team in brief intervals of mental instability.

For me, the interesting point about the schedule is not about predicting the win/loss record, which is frankly a stupid and pointless exercise.

How are the Broncos going to win games? Last year they were incredibly inconsistent and the relationship between their offense and their defense was basically an unknown on a game to game basis. The offense kept turning the ball over and the defense went walkabout after every injury. We saw individual games in which execution went up and down like a yo-yo on both sides of the ball.

The question is, if you force both these unit to stabilize, what is their identity? If Fox and Elway tell Manning to engage less risk when trying to open up the passing game what do you have? They seemed to be making progress on this front in the playoffs, which is why the meltdown in the first quarter of the Super Bowl is all harder to grasp.

Manning is a great player who sometimes goes sideways on the risk/reward behavior. That was the Super Bowl. Manning went off, no coach was in tune to it, nobody had a plan for it, and he took the whole team over a cliff. The key relationship that failed was Manning-Gase, who operated as an autonomous unit. We forget how young Gase is and maybe Fox needs to be more involved but that is a tricky chemistry to manage.

In spite of the five MVPs etc. etc., Manning still needs reinforcement that throwing the ball away, and doing it quickly, is often a good play. When he sees a defensive unit come out showing some great stuff--physical talent and creativity--he needs a sort of turtle mode that will let him check in with the coaches, look at the pre-snap stills, and get a sense of what's going on with the coverage. Incomplete passes are nothing compared to picks, sacks, and safeties. You can't blow up your whole team in brief intervals of mental instability.

Agreed. In pretty much all aspects. One thing I am excited about is that was Gases first year as O cord, and like I've mentioned before, the Broncos have shown a knack for improving year to year, I think they'll look better this year with another year of Gase and Manning working together. Gase seems like a smart cookie who can learn from his mistakes. Manning can learn from his mistakes too, pushin' too hard can lead to bad results. You have an excellent point though, Manning, at times, almost seems to think just throwing the ball away is an insult, which is odd for a guy like that, good pick up on that one.

I would think this year would be the best it could be chemistry wise. You'll have almost the whole offensive contingent back, including Clady. You lose Decker (no one seems torn up about that) but Caldwell is faster, I'm just not sure about his route running...as an aside, I'm really happy for Caldwell. Remember when he was all pissed that he didn't get invited to Peytons' personal pass catching sessions and people were calling him a cry baby? I'm glad he said what he was going to do and work his tail off, Peyton certainly noticed.

Anyway, then you have this Franklin thing, since he's been here, there has always been talk of moving him, I felt he just had a bad game against a rusher who had his number in the first half, during the rest of the year, he graded out quite well. Manny stays at C, so does Clark take Beadles place? That's the only continuity issue I see on the O side.

What I'm most looking forward to is Del Rios stamp on the D. He's pretty much got everything he has wanted, he's had the time to make it his D now, the pick ups the Broncos executed in FA has his finger prints all over it, tough guys up front, tough guys in the back. He likes them big up front, he's cycled that line to his liking, both Fox and he have an affinity for kinda little LB's who can motor. I'm not sure when Harris can come back, since he only had a partial tear, but I like Kayvon and think he will grow into quite the player. Add in a young Duke, hopefully Moore's health will be up to par and you have a pretty good D, on paper. Depending on the draft, the D could get really, really deep. I'm just assuming Bolden is gone, since he's a tweener with no where to go, so that opens it up for someone else. I like the looks of things so far, the Broncos aren't that far away. Sigh, exactly what I said last year.

retro-grouch wrote:In spite of the five MVPs etc. etc., Manning still needs reinforcement that throwing the ball away, and doing it quickly, is often a good play. When he sees a defensive unit come out showing some great stuff--physical talent and creativity--he needs a sort of turtle mode that will let him check in with the coaches, look at the pre-snap stills, and get a sense of what's going on with the coverage. Incomplete passes are nothing compared to picks, sacks, and safeties. You can't blow up your whole team in brief intervals of mental instability.

Agree. Manning needed time too settle down. He was looking at things and facing pressure that he had not seen....probably in 2 years. Unfortunately once Russell Wilson figured out the Denver defense the offensive chances became limited. A good defense...like Seattle's.. gives an offense chance after chance to settle in and get things working. I keep going back too Super Bowl 23. Cincinnati was shutting the Niners down. They gave up 6 points in 3 quarters. But because the Niners D was returning the favor the Bengals lead was only 7 points. Two 4th quarter TD passes by Motana and the ring goes too San Francisco.The Little Guy

Even if it means my death the evil poison of hatred and bigotry which they're trying to spread in the name of Patriotism must be wiped out. Captain America

Fox and Gase needs to watch some videos with Elway of the back to back teams and see what downfield blocking can do for your running game and the way it opens up play action passing in my humble opinion. They are building the defense so why wouldn't a ball control offense fit now more than ever? The upcoming schedule sure looks like ball control may be a great move. They drafted the running back that reminds everyone of Terrell Davis. Why not let him loose? They have an excellent punter and FG kicker. Maybe the receivers have no blocking skills? Maybe the line just doesn't have the drive? Maybe the coaches don't think the fans like that style anymore?

If you leave it all up to Manning he will throw it 3 out of 4 downs. Uggh. Doesn't make any sense.

Do these moves guarantee a Championship? No... What we can say for sure is that the Broncos are aggressively pursuing one and that they are not choosing to wallow in a big SB loss. The energy in Dove Valley has already shifted I'm sure and the focus is on winning the big one again. We can also say that Elway is aggressively attempting to fix some of the glaring needs on defense that were exposed throughout the season last year and in the SB. Also, it looks like the Broncos are shifting their strategy to some degree away from pass to win toward better balance, one that takes some of the pressure of Manning's offensive skills and puts it on the defense. As Elway recently said, he wants the Broncos to win games even when Manning isn't playing at an MVP level. This was a predictable strategy shift given Elway's Championship or bust focus and the embarrassing beat down the Bronco received in NJ. Now we get to see how it all plays out. One thing is for sure, Elway is afraid to gamble big.

retro-grouch wrote:In spite of the five MVPs etc. etc., Manning still needs reinforcement that throwing the ball away, and doing it quickly, is often a good play. When he sees a defensive unit come out showing some great stuff--physical talent and creativity--he needs a sort of turtle mode that will let him check in with the coaches, look at the pre-snap stills, and get a sense of what's going on with the coverage. Incomplete passes are nothing compared to picks, sacks, and safeties. You can't blow up your whole team in brief intervals of mental instability.

Agree. Manning needed time too settle down. He was looking at things and facing pressure that he had not seen....probably in 2 years. Unfortunately once Russell Wilson figured out the Denver defense the offensive chances became limited. A good defense...like Seattle's.. gives an offense chance after chance to settle in and get things working. I keep going back too Super Bowl 23. Cincinnati was shutting the Niners down. They gave up 6 points in 3 quarters. But because the Niners D was returning the favor the Bengals lead was only 7 points. Two 4th quarter TD passes by Motana and the ring goes too San Francisco.The Little Guy

The Broncos offense had five possessions in the first half and went safety-punt-interception-interception-turnover on downs, so the Broncos defense gave them some very good chances to stay in the game, especially by holding the Hawks to field goals on two drives.

The surprising thing about that game is not that the Hawks defense played well but that the Broncos offense seemed to have lost the mental game before the kickoff. The Seahawks are happy to take credit for "a great game" and the Broncos are happy to give it to them. What's the alternative? To openly discuss the fact that your best player had an inexplicable meltdown on the biggest stage?

The most important part of fixing the defense is to get Manning to stop pulling stuff like that. Hopefully it will give him…what's the word?..trust, confidence, consistency, caution? Whatever he needs to keep it between the lines because unless he stops, they have almost no chance. This is not to slam him because his best playoff work proves that he can do it.

retro-grouch wrote:In spite of the five MVPs etc. etc., Manning still needs reinforcement that throwing the ball away, and doing it quickly, is often a good play. When he sees a defensive unit come out showing some great stuff--physical talent and creativity--he needs a sort of turtle mode that will let him check in with the coaches, look at the pre-snap stills, and get a sense of what's going on with the coverage. Incomplete passes are nothing compared to picks, sacks, and safeties. You can't blow up your whole team in brief intervals of mental instability.

Agree. Manning needed time too settle down. He was looking at things and facing pressure that he had not seen....probably in 2 years. Unfortunately once Russell Wilson figured out the Denver defense the offensive chances became limited. A good defense...like Seattle's.. gives an offense chance after chance to settle in and get things working. I keep going back too Super Bowl 23. Cincinnati was shutting the Niners down. They gave up 6 points in 3 quarters. But because the Niners D was returning the favor the Bengals lead was only 7 points. Two 4th quarter TD passes by Motana and the ring goes too San Francisco.The Little Guy

Manning is a statue in the pocket. Montana was Fred Astaire in the pocket. Like Bill Walsh said "all he did was avoid the rush and throw." Ditto Brady and Big Ben. Not one of these guys has John Elway escapability but all three had 360 degree vision and can extend a play all the way out to the last moment. Manning can't.

Manning is unable to "avoid the rush and throw." His entire passing game is predicated on a pre-snap read followed by a release in 2.3 seconds. If the Oline is unable to hold back the rush and the receiver can't make the immediate separation, he won't be able to get two 4th qtr passes like Montana did. Manning needs a fortress around him and/or a running game that can't be shut down or a SB opponent like the 2006 Bears who suck worse than his team.

Shannon is playing a cheerleader role for his former team. Nothing wrong with that. It does look like the Broncs are making some smart moves, and have every intention of going back with a different result. If they do win the next SB, it would do wonders for their stature to come back after getting train wrecked.

retro-grouch wrote:[quote="The Broncos offense had five possessions in the first half and went safety-punt-interception-interception-turnover on downs, so the Broncos defense gave them some very good chances to stay in the game, especially by holding the Hawks to field goals on two drives.

Disagree. It's going to take a lot more than 5 possesions to get a solid defense figured out and get the team settled down. I hate too sound like a broken record but again I must go back too Super Bowl 23. For a bit more than three quarters....not one quarter but over three....the Bengals had the Niners stuffed. There is an old saying in Football "If you let even a bad team hang around they will find a way too beat you". That's what a quality defense does...it allows you to stay in the game.The Little Guy

Even if it means my death the evil poison of hatred and bigotry which they're trying to spread in the name of Patriotism must be wiped out. Captain America